User blog:Summer Salmon/An Unlikely Alliance: The Brutal Journey
After meeting Bee, Emilia was teleported back to Olympus. Grateful for help from the gods, Emilia and her friends knew they had to continue the quest. They prepared to get back on track towards Death Valley. Chapter 1: A Journey Re-Continued Bee "The Pippycat" Clio's Point of View I had decided to assist Emilia in her quest to vanquish the evil Marvel. He had killed my best friend Ruby, and I was ready to put him down once again. I arrived with the rest of the group, who was now diminished to four. I had no clue why, but it wasn't long before I was filled in on the details. I recognized Emilia, the one with crimson hair and blue eyes. I soon learned of Blake, the lanky boy with the spiky black hair, the son of Dionysus. Aria was another one, the girl with dark hair and green eyes. The fourth was Brooklyn, who was blonde with grey eyes. I greeted them, and when I told them I had killed Marvel previously, they were shocked. "You, a 13 year old did it yourself?" Brooklyn asked, shocked. "Yes, indeed." I replied. I heard Emilia ask Hermes, who was getting us ready to leave something. "What of Isaac? The boy who assisted us? The only one to not betray us?" she asked. "The boy of Apollo? He... is well... missing. He wasn't killed if that makes you happier, but he is missing..." Hermes replied. He gave us each a backpack full of survival gear, and said "You'll need it, this part of the journey isn't open road. You'll have to trudge through dark forests and bitter mountains. Good luck." he said. Easy for him, he had magical wing shoes. He could just fly through it all. "However, I must warn you. Marvel's began to "stir" other titans up. Children of the ancient Gaea lurk in caves of the earthly mountains. Creatures made halfly up of rocks and earth materials. You must keep them off the ground to completely defeat them." Hermes said. I didn't get a chance to ask any question, as Hermes waved his hand in front of us. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the new light, I saw myself and my group in a pine forest. "Looks like we're in Nebraska. Probably couldn't teleport us closer due to "dark magic" or some other lame excuse the gods make up." Brooklyn says, rolling her eyes. I knew the journey would be rough, but one threat I knew would come after me one time or another. Troy Mason, counselor of Ares and secret searcher of the rare Pippycat. That pippycat is unfortunately me. Chapter 2: There's Some Mist in the Air (Written by Emilia) Aria Westbrook's POV After a helluva battle between the snake and Elias's crew, I was mentally worn out. Personally, I was glad that we got to Olympus for a little break. But the thought that disturbed me most was the betrayal of Connor. I mean, the two of us were besties who were ready to take it further when Elias de Leone the stupid HAD to intervene between our "relationship" that sent us our separate ways. Should I be angry? Probably, but that was the problem; I was feeling lonely instead. Eventually, Hermes teleported the five of us to Nebraska. Wasn't that where Mount Rushmore was? I was never any good at geography but I was better at making myself invisible from other people and being classified as an outsider. Bee, Emilia, Brooklyn and I were making up a game plan while Blake was hovering over Emilia looking like he wanted unneeded attention when I spotted a masculine figure in the distance. "Wait Bee, isn't that Troy?" I replied. Bee started to look like she was going faint at the mention of Troy. A spark of desperation started, like a countdown to blast off. The five of us couldn't come up with a good plan until Brooklyn, being the wise one, suggested something. "Aria, can't you use the Mist to conceal some of us so we can go undercover and take out Troy?" Brooklyn said. "Sure, but masking at least four people with the Mist might make me go unconscious." I replied. Emilia defiantly replied, "Then I'll stay behind and guard/help Aria. They are expecting me to come anyways, so they'll send a diversion which I'll be ready for." Brooklyn and Bee nodded in agreement while Blake looked mortally terrified. I guess he was afraid for his crush to take a few scars for him. So Emilia got the three of them ready, and I cast my spell over them to disguise them into something else. My knees started to buckle, but Emilia caught me before I could fall. Emilia bid farewell to our three friends while my friend helped me recover in case a diversion would happen. And the odds were likely at this point. Chapter 3: The Bigger they are (Written by Eli) Blake Rywell's Point of View I always considered Troy a bloodthirsty scourage. He was an intelligant barbarian, wrapped around in sheer seriousness and determination of battle. He was someone I didn't want to be hunted by, standing well at 6'7, about 240 pounds of pure muscle. In his hand was a hefty mace. The large boy studied his surroundings, as if trying to scent us out. In a gruff, yet surprisingly smart voice, Troy said "You can't hide from me, mist users. You left your tracks everywhere anyways. You must've forgot I'm a demigod as well, and that the mist doesn't work on me." he says. Crap. I watch in utter terror, as he slams into Bee. He swings his hefty mace, but Bee nimbly rolls away. "You! You Pippy cat! I've been hunting for you for many years, and now you're here!" he says, swinging his mace. Bee ducks as the blow knocks down a small tree. She closes her eyes. What is she doing?! "Let's make this fight fair." she says, before opening her eyes. They are very feline in appearance and are a more golden color than blue. Before my eyes, she transforms into a great cat-like creature, standing at 6'4 at least. Bee, or should I say, the Pippy Cat, jumps on Troy. She begins shredding his chest with her claws. However, Troy must've been prepared for this his whole life, as he shoves his fist into her gut. Winded, Bee is knocked over. "Time for the final blow!" Troy says. As if on cue, Emilia, Brooklyn, Aria, and I moved from our positions, weapons drawn. Troy seems shocked, but he tries to take a BITE out of Bee. I rush forward, stoping Troy with my greatsword. "No pranks here! This is combat!" he jeers at me, ramming me backwards. Brooklyn and Aria draw their bows as I join Emilia in fighting the menace in melee combat. Thankfully, Bee begins to recover in her cat form just in time. Troy seems to be able to outdo most of us, but we've began to wear him down and tire him out. Bee pounces, shredding his neck open, a fatal wound. But Troy has one last thing. "Eating the pippy cat grants... immortality! I CAN SURVIVE THIS WOUND!" he says, tackling the pippy cat to the ground. He sinks his teeth into her neck, shredding out the skin, trying to eat her alive. It's gruesome, Troy's gone feral. I know he is too long gone with insanity to be left alive, so I draw out my iron dagger. He doesn't even have time to react to his death as I plung it into the back of his head. The big boy falls over, dead for sure. The pippycat lies over, before slowly morphing back into Bee. The problem is, she's bleeding bad. I knew we needed her help more than anything, so we needed to keep her alive. I looked to Emilia, hoping she had an idea. Chapter 4: Ready? (Written by Emilia) Emilia Oswald's POV "BEE!" I screamed as Troy falls down, dead. I quickly ran towards her and examined her for any serious injuries. She was bleeding badly and looked in rough shape. Everyone else was glancing at me waiting for a game plan. The problem was, we needed Bee in order to defeat Marvel. "Check your packs and see if you have any First Aid Kits, bandages or such. We need anything we can to stop the bleeding." I spoke, hopeful that we could find something. After searching through everything, we managed to collectively find some cloth and bandages that we could use. Brooklyn and Aria got to work while I sat on the ground, waiting for an enemy to unexpectedly come and attack. Not realizing that I was so focused on watching for an enemy incoming, I didn't notice Blake tapping on my shoulder. "Can I sit with you?" He asked, color rising in his cheeks. "Sure." I replied, still staring out at the horizon, waiting for someone to attack us. My eyes were still focused where I was staring earlier when Blake started talking to me. "Hey, are you okay?" He started out. I scoffed before replying. "I should ask you the same. You've saved me too many damn times, and I don't know how to repay you, which bits me." Blake seemed partially confused, but continued talking. "But you have to lead us to do something that seems practically impossible. And you are doing a mighty job of leading us." Now it was my turn to feel embarrassed as I could feel my cheeks flaming up. "Thanks. I'm doing the best I can, but I always feel like I'm failing you guys." Attempting to hide the red in my face, I looked towards the horizon. No enemies were coming towards us, so I stood up and tried to go towards Brooklyn and Aria, who still looked busy but Blake grabbed my arm and held me back. "What?" I retorted to being held back. Blake gave me a quick smile. "I hope that whatever has been holding you back from having a spark is gone." Before he could bring me closer, I pulled away. It brought back too many bad memories, memories that I wish could leave behind me. A Few Hours Later... Everyone was long asleep while I sat against a rock, attempting to forget the scars that had been embedded in my skin. I drifted back to a time that seemed far worse... Flashback I had only been about twelve years old and hadn't moved to Brooklyn yet, but Mom had a new boyfriend, and decided to being him over for dinner. Everything had been normal until it had been time for me to go to sleep. I had gotten into my pajamas, and I was waiting for my mom to tuck me into bed like she did. But instead, she sent her new boyfriend to do it for me. That it were IT happened. So he tucked me in and all, but he sat by my bedside and whispered something really strange to me. "I never wanted your mom you know." At the sound of these words, I was utterly scared and shocked. I was only 12, not 22. But he still continued. "You are more special and...unique." "What do you want?" I asked, in a softer voice. "You." He replied before he did something weird. He untucked the sheets from my bed and crawled beside me. Without consent, he pressed his fingers against my neck. It felt weird and not right. Eventually he stared at the front of me and took in the sight of me. "Why am I special?" I retorted. He hushed me and threw me into his arms before climbing out the window with me somehow still hanging on. I screamed and threw a hissy fit, but no one heard me at all. It felt like the world had been silenced. "You'll do." He replied before leaving me in an abandoned shack. I waited and waited for what seemed like forever. The man came back a few times to stare at me again. Eventually, I ran away from the shack to the nearest police station. I was still wearing the same PJs, but they looked ragged on me, especially more so that I wasn't developed yet. "Please officer, just take me home." I asked to the desk. Apparently someone heard me because I heard a voice say "We finally found her!" But as soon as the officer appeared, so did my mom's boyfriend, who held a gun to the back of my head, loaded. One mistake, and I was dead. "Yuri, don't shoot me, I just want to go home." I replied in a little girl voice. Yuri chuckled. "Your home is the shack now, my little slave." At that point, all I wanted was to get home and see my mom again. Anywhere with Yuri was the least safe place in the world. So without thinking, I kicked him in the crotch (where it hurts for guys to get kicked) and he fell down in pain before the officer stepped in front of me and shot Yuri in the leg. BANG! Present Day Now that I had relived every detail that I could remember from this tragic incident, I calmed myself down. The incident was petty comparable to the task I was to lead; the quest to defeat the great Marvel. I was finally ready to let go, except for one thing; Yuri, the man who had kidnapped me, looked extremely similar to Elias. Did they share the same features? That's when it sunk in. The man who had kidnapped me wasn't really Yuri. It was Elias's father, the Salmon King, in human form. I rolled against my rock and immediately fell into a dreamless sleep. Chapter 5: A New Evil (Written by Eli) ???'s Point of View "You've been a real good ally to me. Ever since that snake was eliminated..." The sleeping Marvel says to me as I'm called into a private meeting with other top supporters of Marvel. Alberto Ramirez, a mexican demigod who was exiled from camp half blood for extreme bloodthirst 4 years ago was here. I personally was scared of the scarred kid, as he carried tons of weapons on him at all times. Vera Grey was also present. She was a middle aged woman, and I knew she was in her past mortal life a scammer, master of insurance fruad, and persuasion. She used to be beuatiful and very charming, but when she was sent to the underworld, she turned grotesque. She escaped with her wit, being a wanted criminal from the gods, especially Hades, for years. The only non human in the room was the giant manticore, called "Aincent" because no one knew his name. He is one of those "children" of Gaea. He didn't talk much, but he was basically Marvell's bodyguard. However, one more man rushed into the room. He was a grinning man, but I knew this was the form he chose for the occasion. He was dressed in a fancy suit with a red speckled necktie. In his hand was a briefcase. "Marvel, the true king of the everything. The Salmon King has agreed to ally with you. This should keep the demigods from crossing freshwater rivers, slowing their progress. Also, the titans might join as well." he says in a successful tone. Something scares me about the man. Not much scares me, but he certainly does. "But, by my calculations, you'll be able to awaken in 11 days. With you awakened, we should launch a direct assault on the underworld. We will dethrone Hades and send him to his own underworld, promising to release the dead if they join our cause." the man says. Anyone who knows about Marvel's past knows he was Hades's son as a demigod. Back when he was forced to fight to the death with other children of the big three. Back before Marvel went nuts and began killing innocents. Back when he was still good. Then, it hit me. That man... That was the same man who organized the whole event. Who gathered all the unlucky demigods to kill each other. The one who turned Marvel evil. The Mayor. The Mayor of New York at that time. Simon R. Banks. He looks at me. "Say, why do you hide your face with that mask? This isn't a masquerade ball." he says. I begin to move for the exit, but the mayor transforms into a HUGE tarantula. I don't move far, before he bouns upon me, pinning me with his leg. He transforms back to human, ripping my mask off. "Such a beautiful, young face. Not even 16 yet. What pretty blue eyes." he says, studying me. "A young spy. A demigod... a daughter of Hermes no doubt. No demigod would be sly enough to sneak under us unless they were quick enough like Hermes himself..." he says. "Eh eseh! I recognize that face!" Alberto pops in. "That is senorita Sharlet!" he says. "From Camp Half Blood huh? Sent to spy on us?" Richard says. "We got a special treatment for demigods." He says, grabbing me by my arms, dragging me from the room. I kicked and screamed, but Richard did good at holding me. "Only one death can muffle your screams and is a realtively bloodless death. I don't like blood on my suit ya see?" he says. He drags me in a room in the cavern, a large underground pool of water. I already see the horrific sight. Tons of skeletons lie at the bottom, rusty weights chained to their legs. "Good sacrifices for the Salmon King. His power grows, soon he will take over the seas as well." Richard says. Alberto and Vera follow Richard in. The pin me down, as Richard does the honors of tying a weight ball to my leg. "Hasta Luego!" Alberto says maliciously. Vera just cackles, as Richard shoves me into the cavern of water. I take a deep breath before my head plunges over, to try and plead with the gods before I die. I manage to hold my breath for a good while, pleading to not be killed by the corrupt. However, I don't know if the gods will answer. I plead for my dad Hermes to relay my expirience and warn the other gods of an attack on the underworld. Air flows out of my mouth, and soon, my lungs empty. It's only a matter of time. I look around, at the deceased skeletons. I was soon going to become one. The pain in my chest was super intense. I tried to breathe, but I swallowed water. My lungs flooded, my vision began to fade. The last of my air floated to the surface, as I finally drowned, the salmon king claiming himself another soul. Chapter 6: The Deal-Breaker, Part 1 (Written by Emilia) Connor Brilliance's POV So finally, after one hell of a journey to arrive at Elias's fortress in Death Valley with Hannah, we finally arrive. The bouncer (or guard, whatever) took our jackets and backpacks and lead us to where Elias was going to meet the two of us again after a long period of separation. The only problem; he notices Hannah first. So, the two lovebirds go run towards each other in the middle of the hallway, embrace each other before what making out with each other, but from my perspective, it looked like two people trying to devour each other. So I waited for it all to be over. And I waited... And waited... And waited... AND waited... Finally, bored out of my skull, I decided to leave the hallway and the awkward situation. So, following the twisty hallways of the palace, I made my way to the main control room of the palace. Now it was HUGE. But the whole of the place wasn't beautiful, it was Marvel'ous. All the furniture matched the room's colors, so it looked a hell of a lot neater than my cabin back at Camp Half-Blood. Thinking back to Camp Half-Blood made me feel kind of guilty. Sure, it was my home, but being by Elias's side was my FIRST home. So, when Hannah wanted to betray the quest and come to work by Elias's side, could I refuse? Nope. I just didn't figure that our first encounter would go like this. "Connor, is that you?" A figure who's voice I clearly recognized spoke out in the distance. But who was it? "Who are you?" I shouted, replying to the voice in the distance. "JUST FOLLOW MY VOICE." The voice spoke out again. So not hesitating, since the voice had shouted at me, I made my way towards the voice in the cage. But why was the voice so familiar? Eventually, I made it to the cage where I found myself staring into the insane, wild eyes of the one parent who cared about me. ''My father. "Dad?" I replied, in a voice that was louder than my actual inside voice "Hush Connor!" My dad replied, looking wildly around before returning to gaze into my eyes. "You have to leave this palace, NOW." "But Dad, why?" I replied. My dad just shook his head. "I'm your father, and I care about you more than anything in the world. But Connor, they're going to kill you..." I was stunned at my father's voice breaking. "Do you know why?" My father gave me a quick smile before looking around the room to check for anyone else. "There is...a prophecy about you Connor. Something about meeting up with this "lightning girl" in the forest of sorts." Emilia. I thought to myself. But why would I found my dad now, just as I arrived at Marvel's palace, and have him tell me that I have to leave my childhood friend in the dust. "You might want to sit down Connor." My dad replied, "Because I've got a hell of a story to tell you." Chapter 7: Spirit Unleashed (Written by Eli) '''Aria Westbrook's Point of View We were in a thick heavily forested area somewherer near the south western border of Nebraska. A river ran across through the forest, fish flowing gently in it. I thought it was beautiful sight, so I came to a stop. An old rickety bridge ran over it, our only means of crossing it. Emilia arrived, looking at the bridge with a distrusting look. "Well, it's our only option..." she says. "Who wants to cross first?" she asks. "I'll go." I volunteer. She looks at me, before giving me a slightly worried look. "Be careful..." she says. I step up to the bridge, it loudly creaks under my footsteps. I shiver, hoping that I don't fall in the cold water. I make it halfway, before a loud creak erupts from under my feet. I try to turn back, but it's too late. The bridge collapses, plunging me into the cold river. Not so bad, right? Wrong. I couldn't swim up for air. It was like something was holding me down. Then, it hit me. The Salmon King controlled all of the fresh water. He was trying to drown me, absorb my soul, to increase his power and dominence. I fought for my life, desperately trying to get to the surface. My limbs began to tire, my lungs began to burn, air bubbles began to constantly pour out of my mouth and nose. Panic overtook me, I could feel myself slipping away. Something else however... was speaking in my mind. "Aria... your going to drown if you don't let me take control." I look around the water, nothing here. My thoughts were on breathing once again, so in my mind, I said "Yes.. please just save my life!". Something shifts. I then lose control. I can see through my own eyes still, but I can't control anything. Then, I hear myself let out a scream of anger. I propel up into the air, out of the water. I see my friends, I wanna say "I'm fine!" but I can't do anything. Instead, I... or IT, says "WHO TRIED TO KILL ME?". My allies look afraid, as I pull out my bow and launch an arrow. This spirit was going to KILL them! "NO!" I say in my mind's eye, as I push back. I regain control, throwing my bow on the ground. However, it coms back, taking back over. I fight for my control over my body. "Stop! You've served your purpose! WHAT ARE YOU?" I shout at it. "I'm the Lettuce Spirit. I possessed you for your potential. You've always wondered why you had lettuce green eyes, haven't you?" it says. "I want my body back!" I say. "You can have it back, after blood is shed." it says. I cringe, as it takes over. Heading straight for my allies. Chapter 8: The Deal-Breaker Part 2 (Written by Emilia) Story Mode: Christos Brillance's POV Basically it was any normal day in Brooklyn; there was people on each street corner, people arguing about anything at all. I was waiting for my son to come out of school and bring his friend Elias over like we did everyday. Everything was normal, except for a girl who looked to be Connor's age come and stand beside me. The problem was, I waited for the little girl to go away, but she wouldn't. Since silence would work, I attempted to coax her to find her parents. Still, no avail. The girl wouldn't move away from my side. "What do you want?" I sighed. "You and your son need to get away from Brooklyn as fast as possible." The little girl spoke. "The savior of the world hasn't shown herself yet. But we can't wait much longer. She needs to show herself." "Who is this "savior" you speak of?" I replied to the girl. The little girl's face lit up. "She'll be here soon! She goes by Emilia. You might already know her." Wait, was this Emilia the same one on the news? The same girl who got abducted by that strange man? I wanted to ask the little girl these questions, but she started to fade away, if that was possible? "Wait, what's your name?" I asked the little girl. The girl looked at me and blushed. "It's Demeter." Present: Connor Brilliance's POV Wow, that was one heck of a story from my dad. I glanced around the large room to make sure no officials were watching. "Why did you betray Emilia?" My dad asked me. Breathing out, I replied, "I just wanted to see Elias again, okay? But your story makes me second-guess things. Can I come back to you?" My dad's eyes held a hardness to them, like the statement wasn't true. "Connor, I'll be dead by then. But I want you to find Emilia and continue the quest. Her allies are being tortured by the Lettuce Spirit, who possess the body of your...friend." My dad hesitated on that last statement. Aria I thought. "Dad?" I asked him, but I found myself flying downwards, and quickly, towards a jungle of sorts. The only thing that flew through my mind was impending death. But before I could land on the ground and gain my sense of direction, a wooden arrow struck my chest. The pain was too much and I collapsed on the ground. I could hear my friend's voices, but they meant nothing now. I was close to death, if not already dead. Chapter 9: The End of Treachery (Written by Eli) Brooklyn Sander's Point of View Aria stopped going berserko as soon as one of her arrows struck Connor's chest. He came out of NOWHERE, but i didn't care, he was just a lousy traitor fighting for the boy who tried to drown me... TWICE. Once in my dead love's BLOOD. Connor clutched his chest, Aria turning back to normal. "Connor!" she says, a sadness in her tone. She looked like she was going to try to leap across the river. "Aria! Don't!" Emilia says. She slumps over, covering her face with her hands. I looked over... Connor had just passed off. Blake searches him, taking any supplies he had. "STOP IT BLAKE!" Aria screams, but she can't do anything. Then, she begins to run. "Aria!" Emilia calls out. Quickly, she and Blake heave a log over the river, running across it. I grab my bow, running as well, just as the log sinks. Nice try Salmon King. I see her moving quickly. I jump out and grab Aria, pulling her to the ground. She kicks at me, but I bye enough time for Blake and Emilia to help me. "Aria, calm down! He's dead, because of Marvel! Take you emotions out on him, not us!" she says. Blake holds her down. Aria stops crying, sniffling every now and then. Blake lets her up, as she sadly plops over a tree. Night has fallen in the sky, as I start a fire. However, I feel uneasy. Knowing that all freshwater is against us, I fear Marvel awakening before we can stop him. My emotions are on killing Elias, he killed Steele, and tried to kill me twice. I was going to make him pay. My thoughts were interuppted, as a wet rag is thrown over my mouth. The figure holds my nose closed, pressing the terrible rag against my face. "Don't struggle deary. You'll die soon." he says, in a soothing voice. I struggle, and I manage to get him off me. I scream "HELP!". The male leaps on me, pinning me to the floor. He brings out a shiny knife that glints in the firelight. He is thrown off me by Blake. Now that I can get a clear view, I recognize him. Steele. He shoved Blake to the ground, but it was too late. The whole crew was awakened. Emilia threw her trident, as it volted with electricity, into Steele. He jittered, falling on the ground, as Blake stamped on his chest, holding him down at swordpoint. "Who are you?" Blake says. "Steele Edge. Funny huh. NOT REALLY." Steele says. "Be on the lookout. I doubt he comes alone..." Emilia says, scanning the darkness for more threats. I look around. "Bind him up..... We could use him..." Emilia says, before going off. Chapter 10: Don't Follow Me (Written by Emilia) Emilia Oswald's POV After the death of Connor and the appearance of Steele, I needed some more time to think. Against my group's wishes, especially Blake's, I decided to venture alone into the woods. The group probably thought I was scouting for anymore enemies. So, finally alone in the woods, away from the demigod questing group, I finally got the thinking time that I needed. My mind was racing at the thought of seeing Connor. Sure, the boy had betrayed our alliance before running off to cash in his wishes in Death Valley, but eventually, he came back. Was he joining the quest again? I didn't know, but seeing innocent blood spilled made my stomach turn inside out. I was alone I thought to myself. So burying my head in hands, I sat against the trunk of a tree and let my emotions loose. Even though Connor had betrayed the group, his death still struck a cord in me. His death had been my fault, I thought. Yes, Aria was possessed at the time, but I could have found a way to prevent the situation as a whole. Every death during this quest was my fault, I thought. I guess this is what being a leader of a quest meant; taking the burden so the other questers don't have to carry it. After a while, I stood up again, but my mind was starting to feel woozy for some odd reason. The fresh water spell had affected me much greater compared to everyone else on the quest. Just the strong scent of freshwater could make me feel motion sick unless I was asleep. For one moment, there was no one else in the forest, but I blinked, and right before my eyes, I saw Yuri standing in front of me. "What are you doing here?" I asked politely, but Yuri kept approaching me until I felt a metal contraption against my forehead. The same gun that Yuri had used years ago. "GET. OFF. ME." I sharply replied, before sending a bolt of lightning towards Yuri. Turns out, that Yuri was nothing more than a hallucination of my worst nightmare when I was kidnapped. Running away from the forest, I found an open plain that seemed to stretch out for miles. Taking a quick rest, I laid down in the grass, attempting to clear my mind from the hallucination that I had experienced. Eventually when I felt my head was clear again, I rubbed my eyes attempting to rid myself of the emotions that I spilled in the forest. Standing up again, I stared out into the moonlight, admiring it's beauty for a few seconds. Soon enough, just I was about to turn around and head back to camp, I felt someone or something tapping me on the shoulder, trying to get my attention. Unsure of who the person tapping me was, I quickly replied to the tapping. "I told you not to follow me." Chapter 11: You Again? (Written by Eli) Brooklyn Sanders's POV I hear a scream of terror. "Emilia!" Blake shouts. We abandon the tied up Steele, instead running for our ally. There she is, none other than Elias De Leone standing over her, his lapdog Hannah standing at his side. "Good bye Emilia!" he says, raising the steel spear. So Marvel knew our exact location, probably cause of the Salmon King's water touching Aria. Blake storms towards Elias, knocking him away from Emilia. The two begin rolling on the ground, as Emilia stands up, her trident interlocked with Hannah's ax in combat. Elias didn't come alone. Along with him are two snake men and a lone cyclops. I get out my bow, shooting an arrow at the snake man abount to stab Blake in the back. He dies pretty fast, but this only alerts the other two. The second snake man charges at me, dual swords raised high. I spring backward, aiming a shot at the snake. The shot misses, flying into a tree. I kick him away as he gets close. "Your just delaying your death, sssssssssssssstupid." it hisses, swingin its swords. They cleave into me, knocking me away and piercing my sides. The blows hurt, but I manage to shoot an arrow. It hits the snake's torso, and it doubles over. It seems Aria and Bee are teaming up on the cyclops, so I focus my attention back to Blake and Elias. Elias has Blake near the water's edge, so I fire a hasty arrow at Elias. It distracts him, allowing Blake to push Elias back away from the river. The ground shakes as the cyclops falls. I think this is over, before I see the mischevious figure of Steele. He gets behind Blake, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him into a hidden dagger. I rush over, and firing one last arrow. Steele is done, the arrow pierces his skull. He falls back, his body spread eagle on his back. The skirmish ends, as Elias jumps into the river, taking Hannah with him. Emilia rushes to Blake, who's unconscius from the major wound. I don't know if he will make it, so I decide to hope for the best. Chapter 12: Journey Into the Labyrinth (Written by Emilia) Blake Rywell's POV All I could feel around me was an everlasting darkness. Sure, the love of my life is safe, but I know for sure that I'm near dead, if not dead already. My one regret; I didn't want to die and leave Emilia all alone. My eyes felt heavy with darkness and I fell asleep again. This time though, I woke up in a white room with two solemn chairs and a video screen were in the middle of the room at the moment. Out of instinct, I sat down into one of white chairs, all alone for a moment. Eventually, a man with stormy eyes sat down beside me in the other chair, muttering something to himself. "Damn it Emilia, don't go back in the maze! Especially alone!" The man muttered to himself. "Wait, what's happening?" I asked the man beside me. I was concerned. Was Emilia risking her life for myself? The man glanced back at me in concern. "It might be better if you watch and see." At that moment, the video screen flickered on, as my quest mates were sitting beside me, in my unconscious state. My friends were muttering among themselves about something. Emilia took a breath before talking. "Guys, I can do this! Besides, I'll be able to fast-track to Death Valley. I need to get away from this freshwater environment." Aria, looking at my unconscious body before glancing back at Emilia. "What about him?" Aria asked. "I mean, we'll be fine, but what about you?" Without thinking, Emilia took my unconscious body and threw it over her shoulder. I guess strength ran through her family. "Then I'll take him with me. Go ahead, and see you two in Death Valley." And without another word, Emilia teleported away from the quest group away into some maze that I had no clue about. My mind raced. Emilia wanted to keep me safe, even in what seemed to be her darkest hour. "That's why Blake, I needed to talk to you." The man spoke to me. "You're Zeus, aren't you?" I asked the man, facing him. "Yes, I am." The man replied. "But I'm worried about my daughter. I feel like she is taking too many risks to keep her friends safe." "That I can agree to." I told Zeus. "Anything I can do to help?" "Just keep an eye on her, okay? I'll even heal up your wound and grant you permission to go out with her." Zeus chuckled. I laughed as well. "Okay, that sounds like a fair deal." Eventually, my arm felt a lot better, but eventually, I fell asleep as the white room faded away and my eyes were swarming in darkness again. Chapter 13: Stepping through Mountains Aria Westbrook's POV After crossing through the southwestern border of nebraska into Colorado, Blake awakens. Emilia seems thankful that she doesn't have to carry the boy, as she slumps over. "We set up camp here for the night." Emilia says in a tired tone of voice, as Brooklyn brings out a bunch of camping supplies. So we set upon the ridge of a mountain, by a campfire. We all chatted about our lives prior to the quest, and so on. Soon, everyone fell asleep. Except me. I was up all night, my thoughts about Connor. I hope Hades would spare his poor soul, and not send him to an afterlife of torture and pain. "Can't sleep?" Brooklyn says to me. I've come to respect her. She's managed to stick with us till now, unlike Connor and Hannah, and also manage to avoid going missing like Isaac. "Yeah... thinking about Connor... and what will happen when we face Marvel." I reply. "I don't worry about them... I just worry about getting my hands on Elias and strangling that handsome neck." she says, making me laugh. We talk for a good while, when I'm too tired to go on as I fall asleep, having dreams of raining tacos. "Up Ms. Westbrook." Blake says, yanking the covers off my sleeping bag. "Why do you call me that? What if I called you Mr. Oswald?" I said with a smirk. "Oh real funny." he says, as we pack up and began to leave. We hike and trek most of the day, eventually reaching the rockies. We were close ot Utah, one more state closer to California, where our showdown would begin. We took refuge near the snowy peak of the mountain, when we noticed one problem. A fortified camp with palisade walls surrounding it. In it, a bunch of monsters. Surrounding it, two huge mountains. We had to go through it. But one thing scared me more... Stakes... everywhere around it. The heads of demigods, still wet and moldy from being drowned stuck on them like trophys. This was an executioning camp. I almost scream in rage when I see the next head go on. Connor's. The person who put it on there... that smug son of a bitch, Elias De Leone. Category:Blog posts